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Foxx highlights reductions to federal budget shortfall, praises role of tax cuts

Congresswoman Virginia Foxx today praised the government’s announcement that the 2007 federal budget shortfall will be $40 billion lower than anticipated. The deficit has been cut in half in just the last three years, and is at its lowest point in five years thanks to strong economic expansion and higher than expected tax revenue.

“This report is great news for every North Carolina citizen,” Foxx said. “It means that the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts are working by encouraging economic growth and keeping more money in North Carolina taxpayers’ pockets.”

As a fraction of the economy, the deficit is at its lowest level since 2002, right after the economic slump caused by the 9/11 attacks. At $205 billion, it is also much lower than the $244 billion deficit predicted by the government in February.

“Pro-growth Republican policies have helped keep our economy strong, resulting in increased tax revenue even though taxes have remained low,” Rep. Foxx said. “This is the great paradox of tax cuts. They protect the family checkbook, and create the healthy economy that produces higher tax collections.

“Eliminating the budget deficit is our responsibility to the American people and to future generations. Any Democratic attempt to tax-and-spend our way to a balanced budget will not achieve balance but will instead endanger our recent economic progress and take larger bites out of the family budget.”

The past five years have been characterized by uninterrupted economic growth, with 8.2 million new jobs created since August 2003. Unemployment remains low at 4.5 percent. In the last six-and-a-half years, Republican passed tax relief has returned $2 trillion to taxpayers and fueled our economic growth and record of job creation.

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